November 22, 2012 09:21 PM CSTNovember 23, 2012 09:34 AM CSTCowlishaw: First half was first of many nightmares for Jerry Jones

Cowlishaw: First half was first of many nightmares for Jerry Jones

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Michael Ainsworth/Staff Photographer

Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall (23) intercepts a pass intended for Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley (11) in the second quarter, during their NFL game at Cowboys Stadium on November 22, 2012.

ARLINGTON — Most of us suffer our nightmares privately. For Jerry Jones, they play out in front of 90,000 witnesses at Cowboys Stadium and in front of millions more watching across the country and around the world.

Robert Griffin III is a Redskin. It has been eight months since Washington executed the trade to get the Heisman winner from Baylor, and nearly three months since he made his regular season debut. But his time as Cowboys arch-rival began Thursday afternoon and, well, it could not have gone worse for the home team.

The Redskins all but erased the Cowboys’ dim playoff hopes with a 38-31 victory in which Tony Romo threw for 441 yards but the rookie quarterback from Copperas Cove was the star.

Griffin became the first quarterback in Redskins history to throw four touchdown passes in consecutive games. The economy with which he reached that level was breathtaking. A week ago he fired four TD passes in just 15 attempts against the down-and-out Eagles.

Against Dallas, it took him 23 passes to record his fourth touchdown, a soft toss to a wide, wide open tight end named Niles Paul early in the fourth quarter. Griffin put the game away with some timely first-down throws on a clinching field goal drive.

“It was real exciting to showcase our talents to the world,” Griffin said. “I feel that something is building.”

Jones can feel it, too, only it relates to a knot in the pit of his stomach.

“Really, I was in awe,” Jones said. “I was disappointed in our play but I was in awe of RG III.”

Griffin led the Redskins to 28 second quarter points. He completed 12 passes in a row. He had some help here and there as Pierre Garcon produced a great catch-and-run on his 59-yard touchdown.

Mostly, however, Griffin picked apart Rob Ryan’s defense and attacked the secondary’s ace, cornerback Brandon Carr, as if this were something he has been doing in the NFL for a decade.

His coach, Mike Shanahan, referred to Griffin as “Cool Hand Luke,” throwing out a 45-year-old Paul Newman movie reference that was way beyond his quarterback’s wheelhouse. Asked about it, Griffin just said, “He must be pretty cool,” and laughed an outrageous laugh.

It’s easy to smile and laugh if you are a Redskin these days, even if the 5-6 mark in the standings is no better than what Dallas has to show for its 2012 season. The Redskins have a future (even if they lack first-round picks the next two springs as a result). They have Griffin.

It had to kill Jones not to be able to compete in the RG III sweepstakes in March when St. Louis made it clear it was going to trade the No. 2 pick in the draft. The Browns closed in, but the Redskins got the deal done.

For Jones, with Romo representing the least of his problems, dealing a bounty of picks for the Griffin rights was impractical. Also it was pretty much impossible since the Redskins had the No. 6 overall pick to swap and Dallas was stuck in the middle of the first round.

But there have been few Texans more popular in college and more fully armed with can’t-miss talent than Griffin. He has delivered on that promise by throwing more than 300 passes as a rookie with just four interceptions. His completion percentage is higher than Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers.

‘”I really almost have to pinch myself to realize he was out here (in Cowboys Stadium) playing against Texas Tech a year ago, and here he is doing a number on us,” Jones said.

The nightmare did not end Thursday. It was just the beginning.

The Cowboys will see Griffin again in the season climax Dec. 30. And twice next year. And twice again each season as long as Griffin is blessed with good health and as long as the Redskins don’t do anything crazy.

And they won’t. They know what they have even if Shanahan downplays Griffin’s success as much as he can.

The Cowboys haven’t reached a conference championship game since their last Super Bowl run 17 years ago. But the Redskins’ streak of futility goes back four years beyond that.

On a day made for carving, Griffin sliced up the Cowboys secondary. But he has done similar work to others. He’s Jerry Jones’ nightmare, but — perhaps equally painful for Cowboys fans — he just might be Danny Snyder’s dream come true.

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About Tim Cowlishaw

Tim Cowlishaw has been The Dallas Morning News' lead sports columnist since July 1998. Prior to that he covered the Cowboys for six seasons and the Stars for three as a beat reporter. He also covered the Rangers as a backup beat writer and was the San Jose Mercury News' beat writer on the San Francisco Giants in the late 1980s.

Tim has been appearing regularly on ESPN"s "Around the Horn" since the show made its debut in November 2002. He also worked with ESPN as part of the network's "NASCAR Now" coverage in 2007-08.

Favorite Dallas restaurants: Park, Nick and Sam's, Kenichi.

Worst sports prediction: His first in college ... that Earl Campbell had no shot at the Heisman Trophy.

Best sports memories: Seeing the Dallas Stars hoist the Stanley Cup long after midnight in Buffalo, watching the Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl and Texas win the national title in perfect Rose Bowl settings.